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New York Rangers looking at Quick exit from Stanley Cup Final (what they're saying)

Stanley Cup Kings Rangers.JPG

Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick defends against New York Rangers forwards Derick Brassard (16), right, and Benoit Pouliot in the second period during Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday in New York. The Kings won to claim a 3-0 series lead.
(Bruce Bennett | The Associated Press)

Syracuse, N.Y. — Los Angeles Kings netminder Jonathan Quick pushed the New York Rangers to the brink of despair Monday night with a 3-0 blanking in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final in Madison Square Garden.

Los Angeles leads the best-of-7 affair three games to none, with Game 4 coming up Wednesday.

Here's a sampling of what their saying in advance of Los Angeles' potential sweep to its second Cup in three years:

The Los Angeles Kings keep telling us that the fourth win in a series is the toughest one to get. They should know, since they've won nine of them over the past four playoffs. And the question now appears not to be whether the Kings will do it for a 10th time, but whether they'll become the first team to sweep the Stanley Cup final since the Detroit Red Wings in 1998. One thing is certain, though. If Kings goalie Jonathan Quick is as dialed in as he was in his team's 3-0 win in Game 3, the Kings will be carrying some extra baggage with them back to Los Angeles in the wee hours of Thursday morning. Quick, one of the best goalies on the planet, just barely outplayed Henrik Lundqvist, another one of the best goalies on the planet, in Games 1 and 2 in Los Angeles. We say that only because the Kings won both games and when his team needed him most, Quick emphatically slammed the door on his opponents and Lundqvist was not. In Game 3, it wasn't even close. — Ken Campbell, The Hockey News

The Los Angeles Kings played a near-perfect road period to start Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday at Madison Square Garden. They bottled up the New York Rangers, taking away their speed, which many believed was the biggest advantage held by New York. They limited the Rangers to intermittent shots, refusing to let them get a foothold in the attacking zone and generate a sustained attack. They took the crowd, filled with fans that have waited 20 years to celebrate the return of the Stanley Cup Final to the Garden, out of the game almost from the start. With all that accomplished, the Kings would have been happy to go into the first intermission after a scoreless opening period. Instead, Jeff Carter gave them the lead, scoring at the last possible second. — Shawn Roarke, NHL.com

Though far from a one-dimensional team, the New York Rangers generally fare well when they've got the afterburners on. But in a Game 3 loss to Los Angeles, the Rangers couldn't effectively use that speed and the result was a 3-0 shutout on home ice. With the Kings outmatching the Rangers in terms of size and physicality, New York was never going to win a slugfest-type of series, so when L.A.'s defenders kicked off Game 3 by taking angles on speedsters such as Carl Hagelin and Chris Kreider instead of trying to beat them to the puck. From there, the Kings would seal off any offensive threat, causing New York to sputter in the offensive zone.— Ryan Kennedy, The Hockey News

It was hard to watch for the second straight game, Brad Richards struggling to help his Rangers, struggling to contribute offensively and making some glaring defensive gaffes. The result was the Rangers losing to the Kings, 3-0, in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals on Monday night at the Garden, going down in this best-of-seven by that same 3-0 margin and putting the Blueshirts on the brink of elimination. It also put Richards likely on the brink of his final game as a Ranger, with an amnesty buyout looming once this season ends, his contract now a burden which the organization is unlikely to keep around. — Brett Cyrgalis

There is no consolation when you're losing, no silver lining when you are just one game shy of being swept. So forget that Rick Nash was as energetic and engaged as he has been this entire postseason, driving the net with purpose and passion in a display that was such a sharp contrast from earlier this spring. He has been held off the scoresheet now for four straight games -- and the Rangers have lost three of those. There is no comfort in that for the proud 29-year-old winger, who has shouldered significant pressure for the Blueshirts all playoffs long. — Katie Stang, ESPN.com